Comments infuriate parents

They want ex-coach John Casadia banned from using VHS pool

Feb. 23, 2013

Annemarie Ruberti

Written by

John Casadia

Excerpts from Ruberti family letter to the Vineland school boar

• “(A West Chester coach) informed her that right around the time that she signed to attend WCU, John Casadia contacted them and felt it was necessary to let the coaching staff know that Annemarie was no longer dedicated enough to swimming to put in the work necessary to be an asset to their program. He went on to refer to her as a ‘party girl’ who wouldn’t give the kind of commitment necessary to succeed or get better. In so many words, he was letting them know that signing her was a mistake!” • “We are appalled at John’s audacity to inappropriately offer a detrimental appraisal of Annemarie’s dedication to her swimming.” • “The outcome of his actions could have ruined her college and career opportunities. Thankfully, the coaching staff at WCU wasn’t influenced by this defamation of character and they are very pleased with Annemarie and her dedication to the swim program. It makes me wonder how many times this may have happened in the past to other students and how many of them have been affected.” • “The reason we are letting you, The Board of Education, be aware of this is because we feel he believes he is still the voice of Vineland High School Swimming. He misrepresented himself with an unsolicited and inaccurate evaluation of our daughter’s dedication. Due to his reprehensible actions, he should not be allowed anywhere near the VHS pool. He is not a school employee and should not have access to any of its athletes.”

More

ADVERTISEMENT

VINELAND — Former Vineland High School swimmer Annemarie Ruberti’s parents recently asked the Board of Education to ban ex-coach John Casadia from the school’s pool after he allegedly defamed her character to West Chester University shortly after she signed with the school in November 2011.

Ruberti, a 2012 VHS grad and standout swimmer, said she learned about Casadia’s comments last month, while on a training trip to Florida with the Golden Rams. She was having a casual conversation with an assistant coach when he informed her that Casadia, who founded the Fighting Clan program and won six state championships for Vineland, had telephoned the university roughly two weeks after she committed.

“I was talking to my assistant coach and he had mentioned my former coaches, (current Vineland coach Mike) Schneider and Casadia, and asked if I still was in contact with them. And I said I’m not in contact with Casadia anymore, we’ve kind of (grown) apart, and he went on to tell me that he called about two or three weeks after I signed and he said that I would be a problem on the team, was a party girl and I wasn’t committed,” said Ruberti, who received a partial athletic scholarship from West Chester.

“I was very upset because I don’t think I’m any of those things,” she continued. “I think I’m one of the most committed and hardworking people on the team and I’m not a party girl. I’m very focused on school and I’m not any of those things. My (West Chester) coaches even told me that I proved to them that I was not any of those things.”

Soon after Annemarie heard the story, she called her parents, Donna and Mike, to let them know. On Feb. 4, the couple sent a letter to the Vineland Board of Education, athletic director Don Robbins and city Recreation Superintendent Dale Elbeuf, informing of them of what Annemarie heard.

“Everything worked out (with Annemarie at West Chester), but what if it hadn’t?” her father told The Daily Journal. “Where (Casadia) had no right to intervene, he had no right to give an opinion of her, and it was my opinion he was doing that loosely representing the Vineland swim program, and again, the people that do represent the Vineland swim program have a right to know that, and that was the reason for the letter.”

(Page 2 of 3)

In the letter about Casadia, the Rubertis wrote: “Due to his reprehensible actions, he should not be allowed anywhere near the VHS pool. He is not a school employee and should not have access to any of its athletes.”

Casadia created the Vineland swim program in 1973, coaching the boys’ team until 1992 and the girls’ team until 2006. He finished his career with a 489-71-1 record, which included six state championships, and is in the NJSIAA Hall of Fame.

Casadia remains a club swimming coach and uses the Vineland pool facilities to instruct a handful of high school swimmers.

When asked what procedure Casadia must follow to rent the pool, Elbeuf wouldn’t comment specifically other than saying “Renting a pool goes through Recreation if it’s for teaching kids.”

Casadia, Robbins, Schneider and school board President Eugene Medio all declined to comment. West Chester University did not respond to inquiries.

Ruberti had an impressive career with Vineland, helping the Fighting Clan capture a sectional championship in 2011 and swimming on the school’s gold-medal winning 200 freestyle relay at the Meet of Champions that season. She also qualified for the Meet of Champions individually during her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns, was a two-time Cape-Atlantic League champion in the 200 freestyle and set the program’s 400-meter freestyle record as a freshman, only to improve on it throughout her time with the team.

Throughout her scholastic career, Schneider lauded Ruberti’s work ethic in interviews with The Daily Journal.

The Ruberti family said they believe Casadia’s motivation for the phone call likely stemmed from his relationship with Annemarie, which had cooled starting after her junior season.

Ruberti started swimming for Casadia at the Dolphin Swim Club at age 7. After completing her 11th-grade season with the Fighting Clan, she informed Casadia she wanted to participate in his “Elite” training. However, she soon had a change of heart.

“I didn’t want to make swimming my entire life,” she said. “I think it became too much, so I’ve never disrespected him in any way, and I kind of just told him that, ‘Thank you. I appreciate the things you’ve done for me, but I’m no longer interested in doing this special training with you,’ and after that, things just kind of seemed to dwindle between (us).”

(Page 3 of 3)

Ruberti still swam and was a lifeguard for Dolphin that year, and though the family said the relationship with Casadia didn’t have the same feel it once had, they felt the issue was resolved.

However, after Ruberti made her commitment to West Chester on Nov. 16, 2011, the Rubertis said Casadia went to their home to express his disappointment that she hadn’t consulted him during her college search.

“We let him get it off his chest, OK, this is Annemarie’s decision and that was that,” her father said. “We thought that was it, it was done and over with, and we never would’ve (sent a letter) had she not had this casual conversation with her coach this winter. (The coach’s) intent wasn’t to let her know, their intent was to let her know, ‘Hey, you’re a good worker, we heard other things, but we know you’re not that way.’”

Mike Ruberti said he approached Casadia about his phone call shortly after his daughter told him the news, but Casadia denied it.

The Daily Journal obtained a copy of the Rubertis’ letter Wednesday from the school district through an Open Public Record Act request.

Donna Ruberti said Casadia came to her work office this past Wednesday to discuss the matter. She said Casadia told her “he did have a three-minute conversation with West Chester that was taken out of context and that he appreciates what our family has done and all we’ve done for him over the years, and that that letter (we sent) was public record.”